Fair Enough: Art Basel Miami Beach, Part 1

The floor plan of ABMB (click pic for larger view), which covers 500,000 square feetIn Manhattan apartment terms, that's 1,000 studio apartments, though not all the square footage is specifically for exhibition

I made three visits to ABMB, for a total of about 12 hours of viewing time. That’s more than enough for the casual visitor, but writing about the fair means doing more than giving a booth the once-over as I walk by. During the press preview, I allowed myself to wander. It’s a kind of dream state where I leave the floor plan behind and just follow my eye. Everything, then, is a surprise. On the subsequent visits I pursued a quadrant-by-quadrant reconnaissance of the venue. Some installations changed from day to day, so I found myself looking at new work in booths I’d visited before. And I’m pretty sure that despite my best intentions I missed a few things. There were 259 galleries representing some 29 countries and the work of—I’m guessing—some 2400 artists. .

The fair consist of four degrees of participation, which you can see from the floor plan:. White: These gallery booths constitute the largest number of square feet in the fair. Yellow: These galleries showed the work of a single artist, or they created a smaller space within their booth, an Art Kabinett, dedicated to the work of a single artist . Green: Clustered in one corner of the venue, these smaller booths consitute Art Nova, dedicated to emerging galleries. Art Nova used to be sequestered in an annex, unpleasant for both visitor and exhibitor, like the kid’s table at the holidays. Pink: The smaller cluster in another corner consituted Art Positions. In past years, these galleries would have occupied cargo boxes on the beach, open in the evening when the other venues had closed. This year the beach was given over to, well, loud music and a focus on such important art centers as Detroit. I’m guessing things will change again next year. But I do like seeing Art Positions here in the mothership..I don't love everything I'm going to show you, but I do want you to see some of the range of what's here. OK, ready? Let's go in.

.

The crowd waiting to get in on Thursday morning. I entered on the heels of an exhibitor, so I had a few crowd-free minutes to photograph. We're going to start with some shots of the venue:

Those little boxes on the floor plan can translate into some very large booths. Above: Suzan Frecon's painting at David Zwirner, New York

You can always count on Neuger-Riemschneider, Berlin, for spectacle in their big corner booth. These flayed figures . . .

. . . are an interesting counterpoint to Thomas Zipp's Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon, above and below, at Baudach, Berlin/Harris Lieberman, New York

Two gallery views: Chantal Crousel, Paris, above (note the book forms emerging from the wall; I'll have better pics when we get to the dedicated post); Below: Klosterfeld, Berlin (I think)

I hope you agree that the booth views give you something of a you-are-there experience. The typographic composition is by Gert &Uwe Tobias at Sies & Hoke, Dusseldorf. There were other typographic works scattered around the fair, but by the time I'd realized it, I'd already made two long passes through the venue. I guess typography is the logical counterpart to all the book references I saw and which you will see

The counterpoint of small and large, newly exhibiting and secondary market

Above: Jorge Mendez Blake in a solo installation at Messen DeClercq, Brussels, whose booth suggests a stage set. Mendez Blake's work includes two elements that were much in evidence: bricks and a reflective surface

Below: the corner booth of Edward Tyler Nahem, New York. The large paintings are by--you know who they are--Joan Mitchell and Frank Stella

An oasis of calm within the thrum, above and below: Helen Frankenthaler at Ameringer/McEnery/Yohe, New York

One of my favorite booths from one of my favorite New York galleries: Cheim & Read

Jules de Balincourt painting and (I think) Betty Woodman sculpture at Salon 94, New York

At Sies & Hoke, Dusseldorf: I think the painting is Federico Herrera; don't know the sculptor. (I do an efficient job of shooting the work and then the wall label, but every time I stopped to talk with someone I knew, there was a break in my rhythm. Sometimes, as here, I missed information.)

Links

Artists Choose Artists

Artist Annell Livingston writes about my work for the new blog, Vasari 21, founded by Ann Landi. Click pic for info and a link

Recent Solo: "Silk Road"

"Joanne Mattera: The Silk Road Series" was at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Larchmont, New York, May-July. Some paintings are available for viewing at the gallery. Click pic for gallery info

Recent: August Geometry

More than just a summer show. Au-gust: adjective, respected and impressive. At the Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta. Click pic for info

Recent

I'm having a great year of exhibitions and catalogs. This volume, published by Space Gallery, Denver, on the occasion of the exhibition, "Pattern: Geometric|Organic," is viewable online and available for sale as a hard-copy volume. Click pic for exhibition info and a link to the catalog. That's my "Chromatic Geometry 29" on the cover

James Panero Reviews Doppler Shift

Writing in The New Criterion, Panero calls Doppler Shift "a smart group show, " noting the work of "artists who interest me most these days." There's a nice shout out to Mary Birmingham, the curator; to Mel Prest, who originated the concept; and to me, among others. Click pic for the review

Search This Blog

Translate

"Textility," curated by Mary Birmingham and myself for the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit (where Birmingham is the chief curator), looked at contemporary painting, sculpture and work on paper in which textile elements were referenced or employed. The exhibition is over, but you can see this exhibition on line. Click on the links below to read and see more.

Review of Textility

Click pic to access review. Then click on page images to enlarge them for legibility

Stephen Haller: Remembering Morandi

When he was a young man, the New York art dealer Stephen Haller had a brief but life-changing friendship with Giorgio Morandi, who was nearing the end of his days. Click pic below for story.

Haller holding a photograph of himself with Morandi in the early Sixties. Click pic for story

Followers

My book, The Art of Encaustic Painting, was published by Watson-Guptill in 2001. It's the first commercially published book on contemporary encaustic. There are three sections: history, with images of the famed Greco-Egyptian Fayum portraits; a gallery of contemporary painting and sculpture (including the work of Jasper Johns, Kay WalkingStick, Heather Hutchison, Johannes Girardoni and myself), and technical information, including an interview with Michael Duffy, a conservator at the Museum of Modern Art.